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what is black poverty

The poverty rate for all persons masks considerable variation between racial/ethnic subgroupsin USA. Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians.

Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.

The poverty rate for all African Americans in 2011 was 28.1% which is an increase from 25.5% in 2005.  Actually the poverty rate increased between 2005 and 2011 for every demographic of African Americans except those ages 65 and over who experienced a decrease from 21.2% to 18.8%. Black families with children under 18 headed by a single mother have the highest rate of poverty at 46.5% compared to only 8.6% percent of married-couple Black families.


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